Mountain of Judgment

The Mountain--! It's NOT like a place - I-it's more like a THING! Like MOBY DICK! You go out to meet it - and DIE!

Saturday, June 02, 2007

The Giant Sucking Sound You Hear Is Matt Brady

Whatever you think of the various Marvel controversies, I think we can all agree that Matt Brady is perhaps the most servile toad in what passes for mainstream comics journalism. From his latest salad-tossing of Joe Quesada:

NRAMA:

Despite your (Marvel’s) intentions or lack thereof in regards to the now infamous Heroes for Hire #13 cover, which last week you made clear was not or intended to suggest “tentacle rape” [groan], when something like this is created that some people can and obviously have interrupted it as suggesting or too close for comfort to something like that, do you ever consider making a change in acknowledgement of those who are upset by it, even if it wasn’t your intention?

Is that too slippery a slope to go down, to give in to public protest even when it wasn’t intended to be what they’re protesting?

Of course Joe responds with the "I'm sorry if you're upset for taking it the wrong way" non-apology favored by dicks everywhere, from your worst ex to the President, which is no surprise because Joe is a dick, in the business of selling crap comics* to other dicks. As long as he wants to keep prying money out of sexually-stunted losers' pockets, the last thing he can do is come out and admit it. Joe gets extra points for avoiding the actual point by arguing an extreme that no one else did:

I took every single exception that every single person had, regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, what have you, into account and decided to make sure I wasn’t upsetting everyone of those applecarts, I wouldn’t be able to ever publish another comic again.

So it's obvious that Quesada can never listen to any complaint that anyone might ever have about any subject, no matter how justified, because it would mean the end of the entire comic industry. Why do you hate America so much, girls?

Anyway, that's Joe. But Brady, good God--I don't know why I think he should know better. He clearly knows what side his bread is buttered on. Still, it amazes me the depths to which he will sink in order to maintain his access, how far he goes beyond the call of duty to curry favor with these people. What kind of question is the above for anyone who professes to call himself a journalist, even if it's a journalist of superhero comic book companies? "Interrupted"? Brady can't even transcribe his own interview correctly? And how many times could he assert that Marvel clearly didn't intend anything suggestive by producing a cover featuring giant, veiny, cylindrical shapes dripping white goo on the hyper-inflated breasts of unconscious, chained-up women? Judy Miller was tougher on the Bush administration. These aren't even softballs; Brady is lovingly blowing clouds of dandelion seeds. He's an embarrassment. Why not ask Joe if these complainers are hurting America, or if people should pray for him in the face of his adversity?